Laerte has licensed products in a t-shirt collection – 08/04/2023 – Market

Laerte did not understand, at first, what that rain of messages meant. Reproductions on social networks, especially on Twitter, of drawings published by her in Sheet began to be answered with the meme “Laerte, I don’t understand”.

The origin is uncertain, but everything indicates that a reader was confused by one of his strips and several others began to replicate the feeling with funny drawings – the most famous is that of a werewolf, who tears his shirt in despair, seeking understanding.

“It was a kind of bombardment, and I’m still under that impact (…). The origin of this is someone who thinks he has something to understand and that the Universe is messing with him. This is hardly a joke or a comic message. , humor is also realized in understanding,” she said in an interview in March.

In fact, it was a meeting of languages ​​and generations, and over time it became clear that the joke built a bridge between the artist, whose career began in the 1970s, and part of the public. “Sometimes it gets confusing, but I end up realizing that it’s a way to get interested and enjoy it”, says the cartoonist now.

“Laerte is undergoing a renovation of the public, and this public of generation Z is wanting to be embraced by her. But her work is not to be understood, it is a bit like Japanese art, you have to feel it”, says Bruno D’Angelo, founder by intellectual property manager WIP Ventures.

The artist is launching the first licensed products of her career, from a collection of items that carry her illustrations, such as t-shirts and mugs, with the support of WIP.

“At various times in my life I thought about doing it — or I tried, without much success. I’ve had drawings of mine illustrating the cover of notebooks, for example, or on T-shirts”, says Laerte.

“It was Rafael Coutinho, his son and one of the guys who think most about intellectual property in Brazil, who suggested that we take over the management of Laerte’s intellectual property. We organized 50 years of contract and original materials”, says D’Angelo.

Much of the material had already been digitized, and it helped that Laerte had organized the archive throughout his career, he says.

“The company was responsible for all the documentation that has been done, so that in the future we can keep it very carefully.” He says that the artist’s cartoons should also give rise to new films and series.

As a result, in the Chico Rei virtual store, it is already possible to find children’s T-shirts with the poetry of the swallow Lola, a mug of the eternally masked hero Overman, a tablecloth with fine irony in which the dictator in uniform tries to hypnotize the people from the top of his a platform or a T-shirt with the artist’s self-portrait.

“We have always admired and been inspired by Laerte’s work. When we had the opportunity to meet, it was the realization of an old dream. It has been incredible to be able to materialize the art of this great master in our products and we are very proud of the collection”, says the manager of strategic partnerships and licensing at Chico Rei, Karoline Castro.

One of the T-shirts for sale is illustrated by the Ratchet Man, perhaps the first barrier to entering the reflective and existentialist universe of part of his work. With a man’s head, mechanical legs and a ratchet torso (the ones on old buses).

The character finds himself confronted with situations that escape common sense and is an invitation to digressions. In one strip, he can see himself transformed into a transparent box of blackcurrant juice, try to summarize humanity’s knowledge in a collection of encyclopedias – although two volumes are missing – or confuse an interrogation room with a dark room.

From the Laerteverso, there are still part of the kiss-ass Fagundes, the girl Suriá (a child trapeze artist, who lives with her family in the circus) and Captain Douglas (rebel or hero?), in addition to God himself (according to her, almost human). .

To Roda Viva, from TV Cultura, she said she admires cartoonists who keep characters throughout life, she also went so far as to “blame” Mafalda for having embarked on the world of comics, in homage to the creator of the character, Argentine Quino.

Its diverse characters, therefore, will hardly be resumed in new strips, but can be collected by fans or star in other media. “I just don’t want to go back to producing stories with these characters. But I like to see how they conserve affective space among the people who read”, says the comic artist.

Migdal, the same producer of “Minha Mãe é uma Peça 3”, will produce a live-action of the hero Overman, who lives in a pension in São Paulo and receives requests for help through a pay phone. The launch is scheduled for mid-2024, with actor Caco Ciocler in the lead role.

For D’Angelo, the licensing market for Brazilian comic artists has the potential to grow in the coming years. Large events, such as the CCXP (Comic Con Experience), he says, demonstrate the appeal that these works have with the public.

“There are artists producing from this connection, building their work with crowdfunding. There is a large movement of authors talking to their audience and establishing a connection with the community.”

Data from Abral (Brazilian Licensing Association) point out that revenue from licensed products in Brazil reached BRL 21.5 billion in 2021, an increase of 7.5% compared to the previous year.

According to a survey by Brandar Consulting, this segment has already earned around US$ 300 billion (R$ 1.4 trillion) worldwide.

The entertainment market is made up of ends that don’t communicate, according to D’Angelo. Brands are always looking for originality and creators have authenticity, but many don’t know how to sell it. “When these two ends come together, it works.”

Also a professor of comics in a social project, he says that the expression has infinite power and that new artists must be discovered and encouraged to license their works.

“Comic artists are perhaps the great strength of Brazil that no one has noticed now, anyone can express themselves like that, it is not by chance that the fanzine is such a successful vehicle in the country.”